Ten Years Of
by BringMeThatHorizon
Summary: Sparrabeth. Will is gone; Elizabeth is sick of denial. She turns ten years of waiting to ten years of being free to face what she's been hiding. Finding herself in another adventure, she realizes 10 years is a long time, but it may not be enough...
1. Prologue

**A/N: First of all, I just want to say that the title is actually "Ten Years (Of...)" but the site won't let me put in parantheses. And I kind of want to get to the story instead of writing out all the Elizabeth-denying-her-love-for-Jack thing, so I'm starting with a prologue to explain all of that. I appreciate reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

* * *

Her first thought was that she was free

Her first thought was that she was free.

Free to run, free to leave, free to sail to her heart's content.

Free. For ten years.

_Ten years is a long time to wait._

So why wait? Ten years was a long time. She hated the idea of waiting. She had waited her entire life—to breathe, to run, to go wherever she wanted. Ten years was a long time, and she didn't want to spend it waiting. She wanted ten years to live the life she'd fought so hard to have. She wanted ten years of tropical islands, ten years of sun and wind and water, ten years of swords and pistols, buried treasure, the rough feeling of a sail's rope in her hands—the things she'd dreamed of ever since she knew what they were.

There was no more denial left in her.

She'd used up all the denial on the ships, standing by the railing and making the best attempts to convince herself that the thoughts in her head were wrong, that it was the heat and perhaps the strange amounts of rum she had been drinking that made her think the way she did.

But now, she couldn't deny it any more. The thoughts kept coming back, even during her spontaneous wedding as she shouted "I do!" in the rain, even _yesterday_! Yesterday, when she'd spent a glorious day with the man she'd married, even then, the thoughts came back. She'd _married _him, but did she _love_ him? The mere idea of it was a catastrophe in her mind, but still it lay there, taunting her. She had spent a day with the man she should have been loving every minute. But instead, every minute she used all the energy in her telling herself this was enough. Telling herself that it was enough, and that she could wait ten years for it.

But eventually, watching that ship disappearing on the horizon, she let go of her stubborn will to believe what she had been trying to believe for the past several months, and she knew that everything she'd been telling herself was a lie. It wasn't enough. _He _wasn't enough. There was somebody else whom she needed, somebody with a compass and a bottle of rum.

She hadn't told anyone, masking herself flawlessly the way she'd done as a child, pretending to be delighted about the gifts given to her by her father, the parties and banquets and balls he insisted she attend. She could remember acting everything out perfectly because she had known that her father was a good person who truly cared about her, and during her wedding, she had secretly felt the tiniest feeling of dread as she realized everything was repeating exactly the same way, that she had to play the part of someone else, for a person who'd been nothing but good to her. But there was more this time, much more. She did love her husband. He had been the most amazing friend to her since she was twelve and she loved him for that. But she wasn't _in _love with him, and it felt as though something was tugging at her heart, willing her to turn a different direction and enter another world.

To _leap_.

She didn't know where to go now, and this time no amount of bargaining or threatening would make anyone tell her. This time no one knew. This time there would be deep breaths, the closing of eyes, the blind stumbling in whichever direction she felt was right.

This time there were no rules or guidelines.

This time there was freedom.

Ten years of freedom.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Thanks a million for reviewing!

Disclaimer: PotC belongs to the people at Disney.

* * *

"Simmons!"

The captain's loud voice startled Elizabeth. She looked up quickly from the initials she'd been scratching in the railing.

_ES._

She had a new name for her new life, Edith Simmons. It wasn't a particularly preferable name to her, and she hadn't picked it because it had any significant meaning to her. It had simply been an ordinary name for an ordinary lass with sailing knowledge, seeking work on a ship. That was who she was now, to the captain, to the sailors, to everyone. Too many people had heard the story of Elizabeth Swann, and there were many versions of the tale—she was vicious, she was heroic; the stories were countless. But Elizabeth Swann was still a pirate, and she couldn't be caught now. Now she was just a young woman seeking to live life the way she wanted. She was on a ship again, and in a little pouch around her neck that she kept hidden under her loose shirt, she kept the money she'd earned. It hadn't taken long to find a captain willing to take a woman on board—the recent war and all the tales of Elizabeth Swann fighting the likes of Davy Jones, had changed younger minds and their thoughts about women on ships. But it had taken persistent searching to find wages as high as those she had now, on one of the many ships belonging to a wealthy man who made money in the fishing industry. In several months she'd have enough to buy her own small ship. And then, finally, she would be able to be a pirate again, to find the person she was looking for.

"Get to work! Finish the planks and take the night shift. We're close to the next trade stop but we've got to pass Tortuga first."

"Yes, captain."

She tied a few ropes securely and moved on to clean floorboards. The ship had been recently repaired after it had been damaged in a storm, and the new planks were hard and stiff. The railing hadn't been replaced, though, and Elizabeth had been able to carve into it with her fingernail. She gazed at it contemplatively, the initials staring back at her, and finally turned away to dip an old mop into a bucket of soapy water.

She would stay disguised until she'd found a certain ship.

Or was it a certain ship's captain?

_ES could mean something else… Someone with the initials ES could have the same first name, a different last name… _

Elizabeth sighed. She'd been falling in love with him for a long time, without even realizing it, and her own ignorance had only been making her emotions stronger. And now, now that she was ready to admit it, there was only the fear of his reaction. But she'd been observant even before the bolt of realization struck her, and she was almost certain of reciprocation…

Almost was never enough. She'd lived her life being the one with 'almost,' and now she wanted it all, now she was finally able to have it all, and she had promised herself this time she would get it.

She moved closer to the other sailors as she mopped the floor vigorously, praying that today they'd be gossiping about something useful to her. The afternoon sun was radiating the full amount of heat it had. A drop of sweat trickled down her face. She gripped the mop tightly and did her best to block out the sounds of it scrubbing the wooden floorboards. They were talking about the hurricane that they'd been lucky to avoid a few days ago. Elizabeth let out an inaudible sigh and wondered whether or not they would ever gossip about something closely related to what she needed to know.

"I heard the East India Trading Company's lost a ship in the hurricane."

"Shame for them; they've had 'nuff trouble this year, with the pirates."

Elizabeth kept her eyes on the floor and continued the monotonous movement of mopping the floor. She was listening intently now, and carefully moving a tiny bit closer with every sweep of the mop.

"Aye. I'd thought he'd have caught them all for good."

"That Jack Sparrow's nigh undefeatable."

Elizabeth froze for just a fraction of a second before she dipped the mop back into the water and out again, concentrating on the swish-swash of it, back and forth, back and forth. This was the first time she'd heard any of the sailors mention his name.

"Ah, but it's said he's searching for something now. _Without _his ship."

Elizabeth frowned slightly. _Without the _Pearl_? That can't be true._

"What's he searching for?"

The sailor's voice lowered a little and Elizabeth strained her ears to hear it. "They say it's the Fountain of Youth."

"Impossible!"

"Taylor, the Fountain of Youth's just a legend, fool!"

"Who'd you hear it from? He must have been drunk, for sure."

"Nay, he was Sparrow's first mate before, told me all about Sparrow, 'bout five months ago. I was on Shipwreck waiting for a storm to pass, found a tavern…"

His words faded away as Elizabeth considered what she knew. Her heart was beating so quickly she found it hard to breathe. Gibbs had been on Shipwreck Island five months ago, of course. Five months ago had been the battle, and the One Day on the island, and then she had smuggled herself onto a ship bound for Port Royal… And then a few weeks later she had found her job on this ship.

_I have to find Gibbs._

She carefully thought about how the man named Taylor would react if she joined the conversation. She was still relatively new to the crew, like Taylor, but Taylor had stories he was willing to tell, and she was a woman the sailors were only beginning to trust. But there was the matter of Gibbs.

"Where do you reckon that first mate is now?" she asked, loudly enough for them to hear. The group of men turned to look at her oddly.

"He left in a bit of a hurry," said Taylor. "Said something about his ship leaving for Tortuga. Pirate town. Looked like he was sailing off with Sparrow, and that other pirate, Barbossa."

"Has she been listenin' to us?" said one of the men quietly.

"I haven't found anything else to listen to," Elizabeth said coolly. She finished her mopping, dumped the dirty water over the edge of the ship, and took the mop and bucket to store away.

As soon as she'd put the cleaning supplies away she lay down on her hammock in the corner of the large room where the crew slept and closed her eyes, thoughts flying in her mind. She had to get to Tortuga to find Gibbs, or begin a wild goose chase to find Gibbs, and ultimately, Jack Sparrow.

The captain and crew of a ship belonging to a man who became wealthy in the fishing industry would never stop in the most notorious pirate town in the Caribbean.

_Unless they're desperate…_

Elizabeth smiled faintly as she remembered the captain's words. They had to pass Tortuga before they got to the next trade stop. And she was taking the night shift soon.

* * *

The sun was setting over the Caribbean Sea. Elizabeth climbed on deck quickly and silently. She crept past the galley slowly and glanced quickly toward the stern. The captain was at the helm, talking to the first mate and jabbing his finger at spots on a map. Elizabeth turned back and ran swiftly toward the bow where the captain's cabin was located. She raised her head quickly to look up at the crow's nest. The sailor sitting in it had his head turned away, and she seized her chance. With careful hands, she turned the knob on one of the double doors of the cabin, sighing with relief when it opened. She pulled the door out the least amount possible, and, making sure again that no one could see her, slipped inside.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you for the reviews :) Apologies for the late update, I've had a busyish week...

Disclaimer: PotC belongs to Disney... which seems to be owning everything good these days.

* * *

Elizabeth gently eased the door closed and looked around in the dim light. Her hope was that what she needed to find was in the cabin…

_Of course, anyone with good sense would keep it with him at all times._

It wasn't the cleverest plan, but it was the best she could think of quickly.

_Desperate times… _

She focused on her goal. Tortuga. Tortuga, where she would find Gibbs, who would tell her how to find the Fountain of Youth, where she would find Jack.

She had experience in being where she shouldn't be, looking for things not meant for her to find. Being in the dark cabin was nothing new or difficult for her, and she confident nobody would come in, confident that even if someone did, she would find a good place to hide. The long months she'd spent at sea, doing chores, swordfighting… She smiled faintly as she remembered every detail, and what she had left was a nimble, flexible, and slim figure. She could fit anywhere she needed to hide. She could be concealed—there was no doubt about that.

_I'm good at hiding. I'm an _expert _at hiding. _

She could hide herself, perfectly and completely.

But even as she was certain she wouldn't be found, she tiptoed cautiously around a large, ornately carved desk, lifted a few maps gently, and, finding nothing underneath, set them back down exactly where they were before. There was a candle on a corner of the desk and Elizabeth was tempted to light it—the room was becoming darker by the second as the sun set—but the captain might notice something wrong if the candle was shorter when he returned.

She crept toward a door in the wall, keeping her eyes to the ground in case there was anything lying around, and reached for the smooth metal handle. It turned easily and she peeked inside. There was a simply made bed, a dresser, and a chair in the room. There were a few personal belongings scattered across the top of the dresser, nothing more. But Elizabeth saw what she needed and silently congratulated herself—flung across the back of the chair was the captain's coat.

Elizabeth walked to the chair and lifted the coat. She found nothing in pockets, but knowing that nobody hid things in outer pockets, felt quickly inside the coat until she could discern with her fingertips an uneven bump in the fine cloth. With growing excitement, she moved her fingers around the edges of the bump like a blind man feeling for the shape of something in the dark, and finally found the barely noticeable slit in the cloth, a well-hidden pocket. It was too small for her hand to fit inside, so she slid two fingers in and slowly pulled out the rough metal object.

It had to be what she needed—she was sure this was the one. She'd seen it before, once, but she recognized it. The old, heavy, worn key lay in the palm of her hand. She put it safely in the pouch around her neck. Her heart beating unnaturally quickly, Elizabeth rushed out to the main cabin, closing the door securely behind her. She knelt by the double doors and pressed her ear to the crack. She could hear no sounds outside, and, taking a risk, stood up, opened one door, and squeezed outside. A rush of warm air greeted her as she shut the door and ran quickly to the helm. The captain and first mate where still there and had not noticed her.

_If I take the next shift and he goes into his cabin…_

She thought quickly, and decided on doing exactly what she planned. She checked once again that no one was aware of her presence, and discreetly descended the stairs to her cot in the large room. In the corner of the room was a small trunk containing her belongings. She opened it and rummaged inside for a while before finding a candle and a tinderbox. Then she climbed to the lower level of the ship. The door to the cargo hold was locked, but she already knew that. She reached into her pocket…

* * *

In surprisingly little time, Elizabeth was running to the captain and first mate with a look of sheer alarm on her face, her palms throbbing from the pain of several small burns.

"Captain! Captain!"

The captain turned, looking impatient.

"Simmons! You were to take the night shift, were you not?"

"Yes, I was, Captain; I apologize for being late, but—but there was a fire in the cargo hold!"

The first mate turned in shock. "A _fire_, you say?"

"Yes, a fire! I smelled smoke and went below," Elizabeth panted, "and someone had set fire to all the remaining cargo…"

The captain stared for a few seconds, jaw dropped, before striding to the stairs and descending into the cargo hold, the first mate and Elizabeth following quickly behind.

"What in the name of—" the first mate gasped in horror at the charred remains of barrels and sacks of food in a corner of the cargo hold—at least a week's worth of sustenance for the entire crew reduced to ashes and unidentifiable blackened objects.

The captain reached into the debris and pulled something out. Elizabeth looked on as he turned his key over and over in his hand, repeating "Damn it, damn it, damn it to hell!", and waited for him to make a decision. She was saying the name of one place in her mind, saying it insistently, passionately. And in her mind she knew that it was the only possible place to go now, because, as she proudly acknowledged, she had burned everything.

"Captain?" asked the first mate tentatively. The captain was pushing the debris around, shifting the ashes and bringing up small puffs of dust in the air. They smelled of dampness and preserved food.

"The fresh water…" said the captain.

"I—I had to put out the fire," Elizabeth said, gesturing at the burns on her hands, apologetically.

A few crew members had gathered around, throwing accusations around quietly and furiously.

"Captain…" said one, "Captain… what's the nearest town?"

The captain sighed. "Tortuga."

Whispers filled the room.

"Tortuga? But that's a pirate town," said the first mate.

"Everybody listen," the captain shouted. "I'll deal with whoever did this later. We'll never survive if we continue straight to the next trade stop."

"So we sail to a pirate town?" asked Elizabeth, her heart beating faster even as she knew it was the only option, excitement rising inside her.

"We have to take our chances," the captain said bitterly. "Simmons, get those hands bandaged and man the helm—you're in the middle of your shift. All hands on deck—we're heading to Tortuga, and I want to get there, re-supply ourselves, and leave as fast as we can!"

Elizabeth couldn't hear the sounds of the crowd of sailors as she made her way up the stairs. She could hear only the familiar sounds of ropes slapping on wood, wind rippling as the sails were unfurled, the crinkling of parchment as she unrolled the map she'd been handed, the groan of the helm as she turned it a few degrees. She could feel the rudder moving with the helm beneath her, and she smiled and welcomed the sounds of sailing to her ears.

_Now it's time for a plan for Tortuga…_

She dismissed the thought quickly. _No plans now. Just leaps. _

_Leaps into Tortuga… Leaps to the _Pearl…


End file.
